Originally a Chinese appetizer called Hatosi (蝦多士) or shrimp toast, this is a simplified version that makes for a great party canapé. Aside from a little cutting and spreading, they’re simple to prepare and are a tasty finger food that goes well with beer, wine or champagne
Each toast has a layer of crisp sandwich bread on one side, and ginger and scallion flavored minced shrimp on the other. Dipped in sweet Thai chili sauce these shrimp toasts are dangerously addictive!
There’s no need to buy expensive bread, in fact thinner (i.e. cheaper) bread works better because it absorbs less oil while frying and ends up light and crisp. The shrimp and pork spread that goes on top can be done ahead of time and frozen, so you can make a big batch and save the rest for later.
If you’ve exhausted your canapé repertoire between all the holiday parties this month, give these a try for New Years. Unless it’s a kosher party, they’re sure to be a hit!
Ingredients
- 12 thin slices sandwich bread
- 400 grams shrimp peeled and deveined
- 115 grams ground pork
- 1/4 cup potato starch (halve if using cornstarch)
- 4 scallions (white part only, minced)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ground white pepper to taste
- vegetable oil (for frying)
- parsley minced, for garnish
- Thai sweet chili sauce for dipping
Steps
- Put the shrimp, pork, cornstarch, green onions, egg, ginger, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it's almost smooth. You may need to scrape the bowl down a few times with a spatula. It should resemble a chunky paste, however there shouldn't be any large pieces of shrimp left. If you don't have a food processor, you can mince the shrimp with a knife and mix everything else together in a bowl by hand.
- Cut the crusts off the bread (the crust will burn if you leave it on), then cut the bread into four triangles, squares or sticks. Spread about a teaspoon of the shrimp mixture on each piece of bread. Make sure to get the shrimp all the way to the edges or the bread will curl while frying. Press a small piece of parsley into each toast for color.
- Add about 2 inches of oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat to 350 degrees F. The oil needs to be very hot, or the bread will soak up excess oil, and the shrimp will get overcooked.
- Add the toasts, shrimp side down. When the edges of the bread start to brown, flip the toasts over and fry the bread side until it is golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined rack with the bread side facing the paper towel to drain as much oil as possible.
- Serve with the Sweet Thai Chili Sauce for dipping.
This is one of my favorites from you. Scrumptious party food. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you. I love love love the commitment you have to cooking great food.
That looks so perfectly juicy and golden… I’m feeling the hunger!
YUM! This dish brings back memories of Asia for me. Thank you for posting the recipe! Cheers!
You had me at “beer, wine or champagne.” 🙂 These look great!!
This is one of my favorites from you. Scrumptious party food. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you. I love love love the commitment you have to cooking great food.
Another great entree, as usual.
Wondeful photography. I really liked them. I am new to food photography, but learning day by day because even I run a food blog. Can you suggest a book or website to learn more on this?
The plate in the opening shot is very beautiful and a great complement to the gorgeously fried shrimp toast! My mouth is watering.
Man, you make shrimp toast look good!
The plate in the opening shot is very beautiful and a great complement to the gorgeously fried shrimp toast! My mouth is watering.
Wow, those look really good Marc. So good I could have them for breakfast. haha
I’ve never made shrimp toast but I always loved the idea. I’m saving the recipe.
YUM! I haven’t had some for ages 🙂 Happy Holidays!
Wow, those look really good Marc. So good I could have them for breakfast. haha
I’ve never made shrimp toast but I always loved the idea. I’m saving the recipe.
YUM! I haven’t had some for ages 🙂 Happy Holidays!
I didn’t realise these were so easy to make Marc! Bookmarked for my next party 🙂
I always wondered how this was made. Guess now I know!
Wow I’ve never seen anything like it,awesome!
Wow what a dish. Yum!!
Shrimp toast sounds good!
I found you on Pinterest. I made this last night and it was amazing! Thanks for the great recipe.
That looks amazing Marc! Happy New Year to you my friend!
I wasn’t aware of this Chinese appetizer, but YUM, and it seems easy enough for even ME to make. 😉 Happy New Year, Marc!
I tried this recipe for our New Year’s party and everybody loved it! I just followed your recipe, and they called me a great cook 🙂 Thanks for a nice one!
I have been looking for a simple, good tasting, shrimp toast recipe for years. This sounds like it…thanks.
I just HAD to bookmark this post / recipe. I LOVE shrimp toast!
been lukin for these for ages, encountered this years ago from a recipe book of an convection roaster i think, thank God i found it again. Cheers!
fantastic!
fantastic!
Before I had a processor, I used a blender. Worked nicely. This dish looks yum!
I have a question, I don’t eat pork. Can I leave that out of the recipe of can I use chicken breast? Your recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to make them.
I have a question, I don’t eat pork. Can I leave that out of the recipe of can I use chicken breast? Your recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to make them.
Hi Puck the purpose of the pork is to add flavor, so if you’re going to substitute chicken, I’d suggest using thigh meat instead of breast. Or you could leave it out altogether and just use shrimp.
The photos on this post are really taken with the perfect blend of light and blur, highlighting the juiciness of the dish! The magnificent preparation of the dish can really add a potent flavor to the seafood highlight in each piece of the toast. Thanks for sharing this family-sized recipe!
For those who want to capture the rich taste of shrimp and still be able to make quite a number of servings for your guests, this is a good way to do it. Your shrimp toast look sophisticated and delicious!
you aren’t actually supposed to add pork or alcohol in a different hatsoi recipe.
Made this tonight using small, halved long Chinese eggplant instead of toast. Cooked about 1-2 ” shrimp-side down, then same on the reverse. Worked grat!
Great idea!
Oh so yummy. This is such a great recipe for my sister. I will make it. 😀
How do you get potato starch? Can you use something as a substitute?
Hi Mel if you live in the US they sell it at upscale grocery stores under the Bob’s Red Mill brand. They also carry it on Amazon. You can substitute other starches (such as cornstarch, or tapioca starch), but it’s not a 1 to 1 substitution.
Do you have any advice on how to prepare these ahead of time? I don’t think I’d be able to fry them up just before the guests arrive, I’d prefer to have a cleaner kitchen when the guest arrive not have the skillet full of oil. Could I fry them earlier in the day or the day before, refrigerate, and, then just reheat in the oven? Or are they only good right after you fry them? Thank you, it looks delicious and I’d love to try it.
Hi Carrie, I’ve never tried it, but you could probably get away with par frying them ahead of time and then finish them off in the oven. You probably want to slightly undercook them (i.e. not fully browned) otherwise the shrimp will overcook when you reheat them. Then you can just stick them on a wire rack over a sheet pan and finish them off.
Hello Marc,
I am stunned with your site: great ideas, great recipes, and what impressed me most, is that you take the time to answer back everybody
Hi Rafaela, thanks and Happy Birthday! From a taste perspective, these really are best served right after frying as the bread tends to lose it’s crispness with time. That said, they’re still pretty good even at room temperature. Just make sure you don’t cover them tightly with plastic when they are hot or the steam will make the bread soggy. You could reheat them in an oven (the the bar has one), to bring back some of the crispness. As for the whether they will be safe to eat, I can’t really give you a definitive answer on that as… Read more »
Can I make the spead earlier in the day and keep in the refrigerator until I am ready to fry?
Hi Victoria, yep absolutely, in fact the flavors have a chance to meld better if you make the spread ahead and refrigerate it. You could make it up to a day in advance.
Thanks! One more question, how to you recommend defrosting if I freeze the shrimp mixture?
When you freeze it, put it in a sealable freezer bag and press out as much air as possible, shaping the bag into a flat block (you can press it down using the bottom of a pan or some other flat surface. Then just defrost it in the refrigerator. If the mixture releases water while defrosting you can either mix it back in or pour it off depending on how much water gets released.
Thank you! I made a batch tonight and it was u huge hit. These were absolutely delicious!
I know, shrimp toast without shrimp doesn’t make a lot of sense… but I am allergic to shellfish . Is it possible to make them with minced chicken or fish?